Mumbai, Jan 15 (IANS): Megastar Amitabh Bachchan, a Unicef Goodwill Ambassador for polio eradication, is happy that WHO has declared India polio-free.

The 71-year-old has been actively campaigning for polio eradication since 2002 and was appointed a Unicef Goodwill Ambassador with a focus on HIV/AIDS and polio eradication in April 2005.

"As the brand ambassador for the United Nations in the fight for polio eradication, I'm very happy and proud that India has been declared a polio-free country," Amitabh said in a statement.

"I wish to applaud the efforts of the various volunteers and medical workers, who have persevered tirelessly and charitably to enable India to be eradicated of the disease," he added.

Polio is an infectious disease that usually infects children under age the age of five. The virus attacks the central nervous system causing paralysis, and sometimes death.

The last polio case was recorded in 2011 in a village of West Bengal. In 2012, India was removed from the list of polio endemic countries by WHO after it passed one year without registering any new cases.